So what we'll do is, we'll take this boy - born into a life of illusion, bred by a mother who had hallucinations, trained in the art of being someone else and who found himself known for someone he only partly resembled - and we'll give him a new identity. After a life of trying many others, this one may work best. The identity we'll give him is himself.' Acclaimed actor and internationally bestselling author Alan Alda has written a shrewd and funny account of some impossible questions he's asked himself over the years: What do I value? What, exactly, is the good life? (And what does that even mean?) Here, Alda listens in on things he's heard himself saying at critical points in his life - from the turbulence of the sixties, to his first Broadway show, to the birth of his children, and to the ache of September 11. He notices that 'doorways are where the truth is told', and wonders what one thing - art, activism, family, money, fame - could lead to a 'life of meaning . In a book that is candid, wise and as questioning as it is incisive, Alda amuses and moves us with his uniquely witty meditations on questions great and small.